Memorable moments: Sir Alex Ferguson’s nerves snapped and he kicked Beckham

It’s been 18 years since Sir Alex Ferguson kicked a football across the dressing room and hit David Beckham right above the eye. How did the legendary Manchester United boss explain what happened?

15. on February 2, 2003, United were taking on their great rivals, Arsenal, in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Ryan Giggs missed an open goal early in the game when he somehow mysteriously shot over the crossbar, and the Gunners went on to win 2-0.

The game turned in favour of the Gunners after Giggs’ missed chance, as Edu opened the scoring just a few minutes later. But it was Beckham who was the target of harsh criticism.

Beckham, who left Old Trafford after this season, got stitches above his left eye.

The incident in which Goldenballs was injured occurred in the dressing room immediately after the game and Fergie explained how the curious incident occurred in his autobiography via the Independent.

“In his last season with us we were aware that David’s work rate was dropping and we heard rumours of courtship between Real Madrid and David’s entourage,” Fergie wrote.

Flying kicker

“He was about 12 metres away from me. There was a row of shoes on the floor between us. David was swearing. I walked up to him, and as I approached, I kicked one of his shoes. It hit him right above the eye. Of course, he got up to come at me, and the players stopped him. ‘Sit down,’ I said. ‘You let your team down. You can argue all you want,” the Scottish coach says.

Given that the injury happened in an extremely visible place to the world’s most famous player at the time, it unsurprisingly meant that there was a lot of talk in the media about the rift.

“It was in the press the next day,” Fergie added. “I told the board in those days that David had to go. My announcement was expected by board members who knew me. The moment a Manchester United player thought he was bigger than the manager, he had to go. I used to say: ‘The moment the manager loses authority, you don’t have a club. It’s going to be run by the players, and then you have a problem.'”

There was further tension as the season progressed, with Becks left on the bench on several occasions, including a Champions League match against Real Madrid where Ronaldo received a standing ovation.

In the summer, the England international was signed by Real Madrid for 37 million euros as the latest Galactico to join Los Blancos.

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